Anti-mine advocate detained in Turkey over remarks on disaster at gold mine

Sedat Cezayirlioğlu, known for his advocacy against the Çöpler gold mine in Turkey’s eastern Erzincan, has been detained over his remarks on the landslide disaster at the same mine. The Feb. 13 accident trapped at least nine workers, leading to cyanide leakage.

Thursday February 15 2024 12:14 am

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A Turkish anti-mine advocate Sedat Cezayirlioğlu on Feb. 14 was detained over his remarks on the landslide disaster at the Çöpler gold mine in Turkey’s eastern Erzincan province, which led to the entrapment of at least nine workers and a possible cyanide leakage.

Born in Erzincan’s İliç district, Cezayirlioğlu has been advocating against the gold mine in the district, where the disaster happened.

After the Feb. 13 disaster at the Çöpler gold mine, Cezayirlioğlu said in a video that “(It’s) the world's 3rd largest gold mine. The world's biggest disaster is happening in the Çöpler gold mine. The world's biggest disaster, not Turkey's, has occurred.”

Experts and opposition had been warning about the dangers of the mine since its foundation in 2009. In June 2022, a pipe containing cyanide also burst in the mine, leading to the discharge of waste into the Euphrates River. However, the mine site was approved to be expanded by the Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Ministry after the leakage.